The invention relates generally to a disposable ink assemblage intended for an ink cartridge, and in particular to one that includes a means for visibly identifying the ink supply such as by color or type.
The cross-referenced applications filed Aug. 16, 2001 disclose an ink cartridge that includes a means for visibly identifying the ink supply in the cartridge such as by color or type.
The disclosed cartridge includes an ink bag containing an ink supply, an ink egress snout attached to the ink bag and from which the ink supply is discharged from the ink bag, and a split collar that receives or mates with the snout via an annular rib on the collar and an annular groove on the snout. The collar when mated with the snout can be rotated about the snout to any one of a number of allowable orientations. The particular orientation of the collar that is selected serves to identify the ink supply in the ink bag.
A pair of housing halves for the ink bag when connected together form a bottom opening for the collar. The bottom opening is bounded by multi-sided edges of the housing halves. The collar has a peripheral recess with a multi-sided floor that complements the multi-sided edges. This permits the collar when arranged in any one of the orientations to be trapped in the bottom opening to prevent rotation of the collar relative to the snout. Moreover, it serves to secure the bag to the housing halves.
A disposable ink assemblage intended for an ink cartridge and comprising an ink bag containing an ink supply, and an ink egress snout attached to the bag and from which the ink supply is to be discharged from the bag, is characterized in that:
the snout is configured to be received in a collar only when the collar is in any one of a number of allowable orientations and to fix the collar relative to the snout in a selected one of the orientations in order that the fixed orientation of the collar may serve to identify the ink supply in the bag.